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Lawsuit seeks Sunday hunting in Pa.

State senator claims the Game Commission is helping with the legal challenge by a citizens group.

By MARK WALTERS

The Evening Sun

Posted:
07/25/2013 08:54:28 PM EDT

In speaking with a handful of sportsmen's clubs in Franklin and Adams counties, state Sen. Rich Alloway, R-Chambersburg, said he found local hunters to be widely opposed to Sunday hunting. (THE EVENING SUN -- FILE)

An effort to do away with restrictions on Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania is underway in the form of litigation filed against the state's game commission.

The suit was filed earlier this month by the citizens group, Hunters United for Sunday Hunting, in the U.S. Middle District of Pennsylvania court. It argues that sections of the gaming and wildlife code are unconstitutional.

The suit, served Thursday to the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Harrisburg headquarters, reads that restricting the right to hunt on Sunday is arbitrary and without secular purpose.

The Lancaster County-based hunting group, led by Kathy Davis, claims religious freedom and equal-protection violations under the U.S. Constitution. The 26-page suit seeks a judge's ruling to change the law that ordinarily would require legislative action. Numerous efforts in the state's General Assembly have failed for lack of votes.

Travis Lau, spokesman for the game commission, said that while his agency does not possess the authority to lift the ban on Sunday hunting, it would not oppose a change to a law that dates back to 1873.

State Sen. Rich Alloway, R-Chambersburg, who chairs the Senate's Game and Fisheries Committee, said he has reason to believe the game commission's executive staff is working with Davis' group to aid them in their lawsuit, a claim Davis and a board member denied.

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“This is the first time I've heard of it,” said Lau, who declined further comment.

Ronald Weaner, game commission board member for the state's sixth district, said Alloway's claim has zero percent chance of being true.

“What good reasons would anyone in the agency have to be pushing Sunday hunting?” Weaner asked. “If we go to Sunday hunting, we'll have to send guys out into the field. That's typically a day our wildlife conservation officers are off duty. We stand to gain nothing financially from it.”

A Sensenig s Meats employee gets deer ready for processing after the first day of deer season in 2011. Pennsylvania hunters must refrain from their sport on Sundays because of restrictions from the state s game commission. A lawsuit was filed earlier this month by the citizens group Hunters United for Sunday Hunting in the U.S. Middle District of Pennsylvania court. It argues that sections of the gaming and wildlife code are unconstitutional. (THE EVENING SUN -- FILE)

Davis laughed when asked about Alloway's statement.

“Laws need to be applied fairly,” she said. “Legislators swear to uphold and defend the Constitution of Pennsylvania and the United States.”

But Alloway, who has a degree from Widener School of Law, said he does not think the suit will hold up in court.

“The Constitution doesn't guarantee the right to hunt,” Alloway said. “I don't like that this very small group is trying to use the courts to get around the will of the people.”

Alloway said the General Assembly's efforts to change the law have been futile because legislators are voting for their constituents' interests and those interests generally do not support Sunday hunting.

In speaking with a handful of sportsmen's clubs in Franklin and Adams counties, Alloway said he found local hunters to be widely opposed to Sunday hunting.

When a bill to amend Sunday hunting laws started in the House two years ago, Alloway was asked if he would move it out of his committee despite his opposition to it. He said he would consider it, but the proposal never made it to the House floor for a vote, let alone the senator's committee.

In 2010, the game commission's eight-member board passed a resolution supporting legislation to do away with the Sunday hunting ban, citing declines in hunting participation and statewide economic benefits. The resolution also stated that 43 other states that permit Sunday hunting have not experienced any problems with the health or vibrancy of their game populations.

Lau said the board has changed since 2010, but the commission has not formally changed its stance.

Alloway, an avid hunter, said he did not like the game commission weighing in on proposed legislation.

“That's not their job,” Alloway said.

State Rep. Dan Moul, R-Conewago, said that while he would like to sit in a tree stand with a gun after church, the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau opposes Sunday hunting, and he will not vote against his farmers.

“I'm a hunter and I want it,” Moul said. “But I can't go against my constituency.”

A representative for the state's farm bureau could not be reached by phone Thursday.

Hunting game, such as the white-tailed deer grazing in a grass field along Impounding Dam Road in West Manheim Township in 2011, on Sundays in Pennsylvania can result in a fine ranging between $100 to $200, said Travis Lau, spokesman for the game commission. A slew of other infractions could make the punishment more costly. As a result, litigation has been filed against the state s game commission in an effort to do away with restrictions on Sunday hunting. (THE EVENING SUN -- FILE)

Lau said that since the lawsuit against the game commission challenges constitutionality, the agency will be represented in court by the state Attorney General's office. Dennis Fisher, acting press secretary for the Attorney General, declined to comment publicly on the litigation.

Illegal Sunday hunting is not a major problem faced by the game commission, with officials reporting 17 citations in the last three years for hunting on Sunday. Lau said the penalty for violating the Sunday hunting ban ranges from a $100 to $200 fine, but that a slew of other infractions could make the punishment a lot more costly.

Various other charges could be filed if a Sunday hunter killed a deer, including an unlawful taking of game charge that costs up to $1,500 and comes with a maximum 90 days in jail, license revocation and between $800 and $1,500 for restitution to replace the animal.

Lau said three species of animals are permitted to be hunted on Sundays: Crows, coyotes and foxes.

He said the game commission typically receives Sunday hunting complaints from property owners who suspect hunting on their land.

While some argue that one day out of the week should exist to allow hikers, bikers and nature observers respite from hunting, the suit argues that Sundays constitute half of the available days for many people to hunt.

Time, Davis said, was the number one reason for people getting out of hunting, which has seen declining participation across the state and nation.

But along with Sunday hunting proponents' arguments that an extra day of the sport would provide an economic boom and that safety concerns are exaggerated, Davis said this boils down to a fairness issue.

“We shouldn't be restricted from pursuing our recreational pursuits just because some people feel we should be resting on Sundays,” she said.